About Lwazi Hlati 

Lwazi Hlati is a South African lyric tenor currently pursuing the Doctor of Musical Arts in Vocal Performance at the University of Southern California. Recent honors include Third Prize and the Audience Choice Award at the Annapolis Opera Competition, as well as First Prize at the American Opera Idol Competition in Connecticut. Recent engagements include participation in the workshop of Lincoln in the Bardo, a new opera by Missy Mazzoli commissioned by the Metropolitan Opera; Rodolfo in Puccini’s La bohème with Chautauqua Opera; the American Opera Idol Winner Concert in Connecticut, presented by the Farmington Valley and Hartford Chapters of The Links, Incorporated; Handel's Messiah with the Columbus Symphony Orchestra; and concert presentations of Carmen and Mozart's Coronation Mass with the Channel Islands Chamber Orchestra (CHICO).

Hlati holds a Bachelor of Vocal Arts from the Tshwane University of Technology (TUT), a Master of Music and Performer’s Diploma from Southern Methodist University’s Meadows School of the Arts, and a Graduate Artist Certificate in Opera Performance from the University of North Texas. His achievements have been recognized with numerous awards and distinctions, including the Artistic Merit Award from the Meadows School of the Arts, the Bruce R. Foote Memorial Award, grants from the Oppenheimer Memorial Trust and SAMRO, the Artist Merit Award from the South African National Arts Council, and First Prize for Best Art Song Presentation at the 2023 Duncan Williams Voice Competition, presented by New York City Opera and the Manhattan School of Music.

Hlati has established an extensive operatic repertoire, with leading roles including Rodolfo in Puccini's La bohème with Chautauqua Opera, Don José in Carmen with Opera North, Edgardo in Lucia di Lammermoor with Opera in the Ozarks, and Miguel in Offenbach's Pépito with The Dallas Opera. With Fort Worth Opera, he performed Gastone in La Traviata, the Witch in Hansel and Gretel, King Kaspar in Amahl and the Night Visitors, and appeared in Porgy and Bess. His repertoire also includes Ferrando in Così fan tutte, Fenton in Falstaff, Prunier in La rondine, and Mitch in A Streetcar Named Desire. In addition to his operatic career, Hlati has appeared as a concert soloist with orchestras and ensembles in South Africa, Greece, and throughout the United States.

EDUCATION

University of Southern California (Los Angeles, CA)

Doctor of Musical Arts |  Vocal Performance

University of North Texas (Denton, TX)

Graduate Artistic Certificate |  Opera Performance

Southern Methodist University (Dallas, TX)

Master of Music |  Vocal Performance

Southern Methodist University (Dallas, TX)

Performer's Diploma |  Vocal Performance

Tshwane University of Technology (Pretoria, South Africa)

Bachelor of Technology |  Vocal Performance

WORK

Chautauqua Opera (Chautauqua, NY)

Young Artist

East Texas Baptist University (Marshall, TX)

Adjunct Professor of Voice

The Dallas Opera (Dallas, TX)

Young Artist

Opera North (Lebanon, NH)

Young Artist

Fort Worth Opera – Education Outreach (Fort Worth, TX)

Studio Artist

COMPETITION

The Annapolis Opera Competition (Baltimore, MD)

3rd Place & Audience Choice Award

American Opera Idol Competition (Hartford, CT)

1st Place

Duncan Williams Voice Competition (New York City, NY)

1st Place <Composer Song Presentation> 

Mary Jacobs Smith Competition (Shreveport, LA)

Semi-Finalist

National Association of Teachers of Singing (Denton, TX)

2nd Place <Graduate Men's Division>

National Association of Teachers of Singing (Waco, TX)

2nd Place <Graduate Men's Division>